NEVADA — René Angélil, a Canadian singer and manager, has died following a long battle with cancer. He was 73 years old. He was the husband and former manager of singer Celine Dion.
“René Angélil, 73, passed away this morning at his home in Las Vegas after a long and courageous battle against cancerm,” a statement on the singer’s website said. “The family requests that their privacy be respected at the moment; more details will be provided at a later time.”
According to TMZ, the death was unexpected as he had been feeling well recently. In April 1998, doctors in Dallas confirmed that a lump in Angélil’s neck was throat cancer.
He leaves behind three children.
HISTORY: Angélil started out as a pop singer in the 1960s in Montréal, Angélil formed a pop rock group, “The Baronets”, with childhood friends Pierre Labelle and Jean Beaulne. They were known as “Québec’s Smithtones” by the name of Les Baronnets. This group had some hits in the 1960s as “C’est fou, mais c’est tout” on YouTube (a translation of the Beatles’ song “Hold Me Tight”) catering to the Quebec market for translations of English-language pop hits from the United Kingdom or the United States. After the dissolution of the group, Angélil and best friend Guy Cloutier began managing artists.
Together they managed the career of two successful Québec entertainers René Simard and Ginette Reno, among many other pop stars of the time. They parted ways in 1981 to each become solo managers. At the end of 1980 (not long after being replaced as Ginette’s manager) René heard Celine Dion’s demo tape. In 1987 and 1988, he won the Félix Award for Manager of the Year.
In July 2008, Angélil was named the director for the reality television show Star Academie’s fourth season, scheduled to start in February 2009.
(Photo source: globalnews.ca)
